Continuity mistake: After Luke's hand gets cut off, in the wide shot where he first comes to a stop after going down the tunnel, you can see his hand. (01:47:55)
Continuity mistake: During the escape from Cloud City, Chewbacca is shooting at the stoormtroopers while R2-D2 tries to open the door. The wall he is hiding behind keeps changing between shots, and the burn mark on the wall also changes a few times, without any laser beams hitting it. (01:47:55)
Revealing mistake: When the stormtroopers are firing at Chewie and the droids and C3PO is yelling at R2D2 about the Millennium Falcon's hyper-drive, there is a shot of Chewie being shot at and the beam putting a hole in the wall. In one shot, it doesn't look much bigger than a pinpoint, but in the next shot, the team at Industrial Lights and Magic were kind enough to add a CGI burn mark, which contracts, almost disappears, and then warps as smoke passes in front of it, wrecking the illusion. (01:48:10)
Continuity mistake: When Luke is holding on to the antennae-like assembly underneath Cloud City, right before and after the hatch closes, the distance between a thin pole and his left arm keeps changing between shots. (01:48:25)
Continuity mistake: In the last part of the lightsaber duel, and in the following scenes, the color and seriousness of the wounds and bruises on Luke's face keep changing: For example, in the iconic segment where Luke reacts in shock and horror at Vader revealing himself to be his father, the injuries look quite nasty, but when he comes to a stop inside the tunnel after falling from the catwalk, they look far less severe. (01:49:30)
Continuity mistake: When Vader and Luke are duelling on the catwalk over the chasm, Luke lies on his back after he falls. In the first shot, he is lying in front of the steps leading to the round part of the platform, but when he rolls sideways a few seconds later, he is lying on that part of the platform. (01:50:05)
Revealing mistake: Right before Luke nicks Vader in the shoulder with his lightsaber, Vader cuts through a railing. There's a hole in the railing exactly where Vader apparently cuts it. Also Vader's lightsaber never comes into contact with the railing, yet it sparks. (01:50:15)
Continuity mistake: In the shot where Luke's hand is cut off, there's a large gash in his shirt on his left shoulder. In the following shots, the gash is much smaller. (01:50:20)
Continuity mistake: After Vader cuts through the poles at the end of the duel, the burn marks keep changing size and appearance between shots. (01:50:25)
Continuity mistake: In the wideshot where Luke lets himself fall down the pit in Cloud City, Vader lowers his outstretched hand. In the following close-up, he lowers it again. (01:52:10)
Revealing mistake: Vader cuts off Luke's hand at the wrist. When Luke is holding on to the antennae-like assembly underneath Cloud City, in one shot, Mark Hamill bends his wrist, revealing the gimmick. (01:52:55)
Continuity mistake: When the Millennium Falcon jumps into hyperspace at the end of the film, Leia, Luke and Lando are in the cockpit, being tossed back. In the next shot of the cockpit, Lando is missing. (01:54:20)
Continuity mistake: When the Millennium Falcon goes towards the bottom of Cloud City towards the end of the movie, we cut to the inside of the cockpit and Lando says "Look, someone's up there" when he notices Luke on the weather vane. At this point you can see Lando's right hand is on Chewbacca's seat when he says this, but when the camera is behind Lando in the next shot, his right hand is no longer on the seat. (01:54:30)
Revealing mistake: When Leia and the crew return to cloud city to rescue Luke from the scaffolding, watch very closely as Lando ascends up the lift, just after the top hatch opens from the overhead angle, you will see that Lando has been replaced with a G.I. Joe look-alike figurine. (01:55:10)
Revealing mistake: When Luke and Leia are watching the Millennium Falcon leave at the end of the movie, its light goes through Luke's arm. (01:56:25)
Continuity mistake: Widescreen version: Darth Vader and Admiral Piett are talking on board the Star Destroyer at the end of the movie. In the first shot, a man is standing behind Piett. In the next shot of Vader and Piett, a different man is standing behind Piett. Then, in the third shot of Vader and Piett, the first man is back. The design of the wall and window also differs. (01:57:05)
Continuity mistake: Near the end of the film, when the Millennium Falcon is trying to get away from Vader, there's the scene in which Vader asks the admiral if he disabled the hyperdrive on the Falcon. This scene is backwards, as you can tell by the insignia on the admiral's chest. Normally it should be on the left side of the chest, but in this scene, it is on the right side of his chest. This was fixed on the DVD re-release. (01:57:10)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the movie when the Millennium Falcon is escaping from the TIE fighters we see some going after the Falcon then we see a shot of Vader looking at it - there are now no TIE fighters. They had no time to escape away. (01:57:45)
Suggested correction: Actually, the TIE fighters are still there. They're just too small to see.
Continuity mistake: When a one-legged 3PO is standing in the Millennium Falcon, begging R2-D2 to fix him, he is holding the severed leg by the knee, with the foot closest to the floor. Some shots later, he is holding it by the foot, with the knee closest to the ground. (01:59:00)
Revealing mistake: When the medical droid tests Luke's mechanical hand at the end of the film, his thumb moves before the "muscle." (02:00:40)